Smart Cards

Smart Cards are micro-processor equipped tokens, able to store and process a diverse range of data and applications. The Smart Card is used in most banking and healthcare [personal] cards as well as in mobile telecommunications and for broadcast service subscriber services.

ETSI and 3GPP have produced the most successful Smart Card to date - the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), of which there are currently more than 4 Billion cards in circulation.

Early achievements with the SIM have evolved to the Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) - which offers a multi-application security platform providing the user with a wealth of opportunities. The UICC provides 'logical channels', allowing applications to run in parallel.

The new high speed interface currently being standardized will allow the Smart Card to be used for Digital Rights Management (DRM), stream ciphering (Pay TV) and as a mass storage device.

ETSI technical committee Smart Card Platform (SCP) is responsible for creating a series of specifications for a Smart Card platform on which other bodies can base their system-specific applications to achieve compatibility between all applications resident on the Smart Card.

3GPP work on SIM card and USIM evolution

3GPP was established to develop specifications for 3rd generation mobile telecommunications in the ITU IMT-2000 family, 3GPP is also responsible for the maintenance and evolution of the specifications for the GSMT Standard, and transitional technologies towards 3G.

The 3GPP Core Network and Terminals experts in Working Group CT6 - is responsible for work on the SIM (used by 2G), the USIM (Universal SIM) for 3G systems and the ISIM (IM Services Identity Module) for the IMS domain.

The ETSI Smart Card Platform

Set up in 2000, to create a central focus point for the standardization of a common IC card platform for mobile telecommunication systems, allowing the participation from companies not necessarily involved GSM & 3GPPTM Standards.

SCP is the Plenary meeting for the two SCP Working Groups:

Requirements Working Group (TC SCP REQ)

Technical Working Group (TC SCP TEC)

Requirements working group (TC SCP REQ)

The responsibilities of TC SCP REQ are to Identify and define requirements for the TC SCP and to create requirement specifications and reports.

The groups ensures consistency of TC SCP requirements with those of other 'customer' bodies such as 3GPP, 3GPP2, GlobalPlatform and OMA.

Technical working group (TC SCP TEC)

TC SCP TEC implements TC SCP specifications and is the home of technical expertise on UICC, servers and related services.

The group maintains existing TC SCP Technical Specifications and Reports ensuring that they are technically consistent with the specifications of other bodies such as 3GPP, 3GPP2 and GlobalPlatform.

High speed interface

There were four candidates for the technology of the High Speed Interface: MMC, USB, Multi-protocol interface (T=10, T=11) and SD.

The result of the second ballot showed the required majority for USB, which was thus chosen as the basis for the further development of the High Speed Protocol.